This book is the product and outcome of a rather long collaborative research journey. In 2010, ou... more This book is the product and outcome of a rather long collaborative research journey. In 2010, our team of anthropologists, geographers and folklorists working in or connected with Finland and interested in mobility got together and thought about an angle from which to approach current migration trends in the north of Europe. In reviewing the literature on migration, it became evident that even when family
This article presents an ethnographic study of everyday care practices in the Estonian–Finnish co... more This article presents an ethnographic study of everyday care practices in the Estonian–Finnish context, drawing on theories of transnationalism and translocality. Based on interviews and participant observation, the article analyses translocal care from the point of view of Estonian families, members of which live or work in Finland. The Estonian–Finnish transnational space exists in practical, everyday terms, i.e. people transport goods from one place to another and use familiar services in their country of origin. Family responsibilities do not disappear with geographical distance, and there is a willingness to continue normal habits of care without interruption. However, the social policies framing care are still predominantly national. The article scrutinises gendered translocal practices related to bodily experiences and to self-care, and the multiplicity of ways in which (informal) translocal care affects the everyday lives of family members. The article uses the approach of bounded mobilities to look at social inequalities and hierarchies in the context of (im)mobilities. In the case of Estonia, intergenerational family solidarity is a requirement established by law, meaning that Estonians living abroad are obliged to provide maintenance for family members. For this reason, Estonia is an interesting case of informality intertwined with formality.
Challenges and Solutions in Ethnographic Research: Ethnography with a Twist, 2020
When studying children’s experiences and understandings of mobility, I strongly felt that intervi... more When studying children’s experiences and understandings of mobility, I strongly felt that interview as a method was insufficient. This led me to do participant observation and to try alternative fieldwork methods, including storycrafting and drawing with the children. The chapter discusses the experiences of using storycrafting as a method with Estonian children (aged three to fourteen) living in Finland. The use of storycrafting focuses on asking the child to tell a story, which the researcher writes down word by word, then reading it aloud to the child after which the child may correct the story until s/he is content with the outcome. My colleague and I modified this method slightly, i.e. we worked with small groups, mainly two to four children, and gave the children a certain broad theme for the story. Storycrafting is a method that innovatively combines facts with fiction, offering new insights into the experiences of mobile children through a twist that combines the real and the imaginable. We have found this method challenging but fruitful, providing children an easier way to talk about their personal experiences and emotions through imaginative stories. Working in groups also allows for children to negotiate their experiences with each other.
Cultural Analysis: An Interdisciplinary Forum on Folklore and Popular Culture, 2020
Drawing on interviews with Estonian families who move between Estonia and Fin-land, the article e... more Drawing on interviews with Estonian families who move between Estonia and Fin-land, the article elaborates on how interviewees use comparison to build their identity and belonging and to justify their choices. When negotiating membership in Finland, the strategy of invisibility is available since there are no visible differences that would cause them to be categorised as different. However, Estonian families also use contrast as a form of counter-speech against discrimination and as a strategy to highlight the difference between themselves and different others, portraying themselves as hard-working, deserving immigrants.
The focus of this study is on how temporal boundaries are experienced and how everyday lives are ... more The focus of this study is on how temporal boundaries are experienced and how everyday lives are shaped in a particular space with reference to shifting boundaries and perceptions of centres and peripheries, continui-ties and discontinuities. Drawing mainly on the theories of semiosphere and boundaries devised by Juri Lotman, and social space by Henri Lefebvre and other theorists, our research makes an interdisciplinary contribution to the existing theories of borders and boundaries. Based on various case studies from different disciplines, it exemplifies how borders are perceived, constructed , negotiated and contested in everyday practices, as well as how everyday practices maintain the borders vanished in other spheres. We argue that abrupt political changes are sensed and experienced as boundaries in time, yet mechanisms of coping and adapting seem to be preserving day-today continuities. Even if ruptures in lives are sharp and definitive, people try to create coherent narratives and use linguistic means as cultural tools to negotiate the ruptures. In some cases, the rupture emerges when trying to create continuity. People use conceptions of continuity as cultural tools, creating thus a perceived space, which symbolises continuity for them but causes rupture in their lives and/or in space. Thus, people make sense of space by creating their own boundaries (and sharing them to various extents), which are tightly tied with the boundaries of time. In the case of both urban and rural landscapes, different layers of landscape can develop at different speeds and can display different boundaries, or no divisions at all. Our examples have shown that even when the political borders in space stay the same, their meaning can shift when the overall political atmosphere and international relations have transformed. Change of regime does not create sharp boundaries , but rather, creates an environment for change in which a crucial role is also played by continuities based on memory, dispositions and practices.
Teesid: Kirjeldan artiklis jututamise meetodit (storycrafting) ning selle kasutami-sel saadud kog... more Teesid: Kirjeldan artiklis jututamise meetodit (storycrafting) ning selle kasutami-sel saadud kogemusi Eestist Soome kolinud perede laste rändelugude uurimisel. Viisime Soome lasteaedades ja koolides läbi joonistamis-ja jututamissessioone 3-14aastaste lastega. Meetodi kohaselt palutakse lastel välja mõelda lugu, ja uurija kirjutab selle üles täpselt nii, nagu lapsed räägivad. Kuigi tegemist on laste ja uurijate koostöös tekkinud fantaasiarikaste jutus-tustega, tuginevad lood olulisel määral laste endi kogemustele ja tähelepane-kutele. Teisalt näitavad lood seda, milliseid olukordasid suudavad lapsed ette kujutada; milliseid emotsioone ja unistusi nad lugudes kirjeldavad. Teinekord on just väljamõeldud loo abil kergem väljendada oma soove ja tundeid. Artikli eesmärk on ühelt poolt nimetatud valimi põhjal hinnata jututamise meetodi otstarbekust laste rändelugude uurimisel ja teisalt saada ülevaade laste lugudes esinevatest korduvatest motiividest, stiilivõtetest ja väljendusviisidest.
Family history can be seen to be comprised of both told and untold stories and sentiments related... more Family history can be seen to be comprised of both told and untold stories and sentiments related to them, all of which affect family members. Drawing on interviews conducted with immigrants from the former Soviet Union living in Finland and their family members living in the country of origin (in Russian Karelia and Estonia), this article1 explores the silenced aspects of family storytelling and analyses how the absence of narration can serve as a protector and maintainer of family as a set of relationships, or an enabler of “normal” family life. The focus of the article is on family past, and the continuum from tellable to silenced experiences will be analysed. However, the methodological side of studying unsaid or unsayable things is also touched upon.
Drawing mainly on interview material collected among Estonian families living in Finland, the art... more Drawing mainly on interview material collected among Estonian families living in Finland, the article approaches family mobility as a site for negotiation between children and adults. Individuals are analysed as members of both local and translocal networks, above all families, paying special attention to the ways in which territorial and social spaces connect to each other. The focus of the article is on the ways in which children make sense of relocation and mobility in their everyday lives, and on their understandings of translocal family practices. The article discusses the ways children reflect upon and incorporate experiences of relocation and a translocal way of life into their sense of being-in-place. While exploring the possibilities of feeling close over distances, the article analyses the challenges related to virtual intimacy and modes of communication that are specific to children.
Teesid: Artiklis analüüsitakse intervjuude abil kogutud materjali kaudu, kuidas hargmaiste pereko... more Teesid: Artiklis analüüsitakse intervjuude abil kogutud materjali kaudu, kuidas hargmaiste perekondade liikmed jutustavad enda või pereliikmete migratsioonikogemustest ning erinevate piiride ületamisest. Samuti on vaatluse all hargmaine pere ja peretunde loomise mehhanismid nii mobiilsete kui ka paigal püsinud pereliikmete vaatevinklist.
Folklore. Electronic Journal of Folklore 48 , 2011
In the article Humorous interpretations of abbreviations as a socio-cultural phenomenon, Voolaid ... more In the article Humorous interpretations of abbreviations as a socio-cultural phenomenon, Voolaid presents the types of abbreviation riddles and their formation formulae. These are based on humour and therefore she uses humour theories to interpret them. Most of the older examples are connected with different phenomena of the Soviet era. Voolaid adopts the idea of code-mixing for acronyms based on Russian but being interpreted with Estonian words. This seems a linguistically plausible solution.
This book is the product and outcome of a rather long collaborative research journey. In 2010, ou... more This book is the product and outcome of a rather long collaborative research journey. In 2010, our team of anthropologists, geographers and folklorists working in or connected with Finland and interested in mobility got together and thought about an angle from which to approach current migration trends in the north of Europe. In reviewing the literature on migration, it became evident that even when family
This article presents an ethnographic study of everyday care practices in the Estonian–Finnish co... more This article presents an ethnographic study of everyday care practices in the Estonian–Finnish context, drawing on theories of transnationalism and translocality. Based on interviews and participant observation, the article analyses translocal care from the point of view of Estonian families, members of which live or work in Finland. The Estonian–Finnish transnational space exists in practical, everyday terms, i.e. people transport goods from one place to another and use familiar services in their country of origin. Family responsibilities do not disappear with geographical distance, and there is a willingness to continue normal habits of care without interruption. However, the social policies framing care are still predominantly national. The article scrutinises gendered translocal practices related to bodily experiences and to self-care, and the multiplicity of ways in which (informal) translocal care affects the everyday lives of family members. The article uses the approach of bounded mobilities to look at social inequalities and hierarchies in the context of (im)mobilities. In the case of Estonia, intergenerational family solidarity is a requirement established by law, meaning that Estonians living abroad are obliged to provide maintenance for family members. For this reason, Estonia is an interesting case of informality intertwined with formality.
Challenges and Solutions in Ethnographic Research: Ethnography with a Twist, 2020
When studying children’s experiences and understandings of mobility, I strongly felt that intervi... more When studying children’s experiences and understandings of mobility, I strongly felt that interview as a method was insufficient. This led me to do participant observation and to try alternative fieldwork methods, including storycrafting and drawing with the children. The chapter discusses the experiences of using storycrafting as a method with Estonian children (aged three to fourteen) living in Finland. The use of storycrafting focuses on asking the child to tell a story, which the researcher writes down word by word, then reading it aloud to the child after which the child may correct the story until s/he is content with the outcome. My colleague and I modified this method slightly, i.e. we worked with small groups, mainly two to four children, and gave the children a certain broad theme for the story. Storycrafting is a method that innovatively combines facts with fiction, offering new insights into the experiences of mobile children through a twist that combines the real and the imaginable. We have found this method challenging but fruitful, providing children an easier way to talk about their personal experiences and emotions through imaginative stories. Working in groups also allows for children to negotiate their experiences with each other.
Cultural Analysis: An Interdisciplinary Forum on Folklore and Popular Culture, 2020
Drawing on interviews with Estonian families who move between Estonia and Fin-land, the article e... more Drawing on interviews with Estonian families who move between Estonia and Fin-land, the article elaborates on how interviewees use comparison to build their identity and belonging and to justify their choices. When negotiating membership in Finland, the strategy of invisibility is available since there are no visible differences that would cause them to be categorised as different. However, Estonian families also use contrast as a form of counter-speech against discrimination and as a strategy to highlight the difference between themselves and different others, portraying themselves as hard-working, deserving immigrants.
The focus of this study is on how temporal boundaries are experienced and how everyday lives are ... more The focus of this study is on how temporal boundaries are experienced and how everyday lives are shaped in a particular space with reference to shifting boundaries and perceptions of centres and peripheries, continui-ties and discontinuities. Drawing mainly on the theories of semiosphere and boundaries devised by Juri Lotman, and social space by Henri Lefebvre and other theorists, our research makes an interdisciplinary contribution to the existing theories of borders and boundaries. Based on various case studies from different disciplines, it exemplifies how borders are perceived, constructed , negotiated and contested in everyday practices, as well as how everyday practices maintain the borders vanished in other spheres. We argue that abrupt political changes are sensed and experienced as boundaries in time, yet mechanisms of coping and adapting seem to be preserving day-today continuities. Even if ruptures in lives are sharp and definitive, people try to create coherent narratives and use linguistic means as cultural tools to negotiate the ruptures. In some cases, the rupture emerges when trying to create continuity. People use conceptions of continuity as cultural tools, creating thus a perceived space, which symbolises continuity for them but causes rupture in their lives and/or in space. Thus, people make sense of space by creating their own boundaries (and sharing them to various extents), which are tightly tied with the boundaries of time. In the case of both urban and rural landscapes, different layers of landscape can develop at different speeds and can display different boundaries, or no divisions at all. Our examples have shown that even when the political borders in space stay the same, their meaning can shift when the overall political atmosphere and international relations have transformed. Change of regime does not create sharp boundaries , but rather, creates an environment for change in which a crucial role is also played by continuities based on memory, dispositions and practices.
Teesid: Kirjeldan artiklis jututamise meetodit (storycrafting) ning selle kasutami-sel saadud kog... more Teesid: Kirjeldan artiklis jututamise meetodit (storycrafting) ning selle kasutami-sel saadud kogemusi Eestist Soome kolinud perede laste rändelugude uurimisel. Viisime Soome lasteaedades ja koolides läbi joonistamis-ja jututamissessioone 3-14aastaste lastega. Meetodi kohaselt palutakse lastel välja mõelda lugu, ja uurija kirjutab selle üles täpselt nii, nagu lapsed räägivad. Kuigi tegemist on laste ja uurijate koostöös tekkinud fantaasiarikaste jutus-tustega, tuginevad lood olulisel määral laste endi kogemustele ja tähelepane-kutele. Teisalt näitavad lood seda, milliseid olukordasid suudavad lapsed ette kujutada; milliseid emotsioone ja unistusi nad lugudes kirjeldavad. Teinekord on just väljamõeldud loo abil kergem väljendada oma soove ja tundeid. Artikli eesmärk on ühelt poolt nimetatud valimi põhjal hinnata jututamise meetodi otstarbekust laste rändelugude uurimisel ja teisalt saada ülevaade laste lugudes esinevatest korduvatest motiividest, stiilivõtetest ja väljendusviisidest.
Family history can be seen to be comprised of both told and untold stories and sentiments related... more Family history can be seen to be comprised of both told and untold stories and sentiments related to them, all of which affect family members. Drawing on interviews conducted with immigrants from the former Soviet Union living in Finland and their family members living in the country of origin (in Russian Karelia and Estonia), this article1 explores the silenced aspects of family storytelling and analyses how the absence of narration can serve as a protector and maintainer of family as a set of relationships, or an enabler of “normal” family life. The focus of the article is on family past, and the continuum from tellable to silenced experiences will be analysed. However, the methodological side of studying unsaid or unsayable things is also touched upon.
Drawing mainly on interview material collected among Estonian families living in Finland, the art... more Drawing mainly on interview material collected among Estonian families living in Finland, the article approaches family mobility as a site for negotiation between children and adults. Individuals are analysed as members of both local and translocal networks, above all families, paying special attention to the ways in which territorial and social spaces connect to each other. The focus of the article is on the ways in which children make sense of relocation and mobility in their everyday lives, and on their understandings of translocal family practices. The article discusses the ways children reflect upon and incorporate experiences of relocation and a translocal way of life into their sense of being-in-place. While exploring the possibilities of feeling close over distances, the article analyses the challenges related to virtual intimacy and modes of communication that are specific to children.
Teesid: Artiklis analüüsitakse intervjuude abil kogutud materjali kaudu, kuidas hargmaiste pereko... more Teesid: Artiklis analüüsitakse intervjuude abil kogutud materjali kaudu, kuidas hargmaiste perekondade liikmed jutustavad enda või pereliikmete migratsioonikogemustest ning erinevate piiride ületamisest. Samuti on vaatluse all hargmaine pere ja peretunde loomise mehhanismid nii mobiilsete kui ka paigal püsinud pereliikmete vaatevinklist.
Folklore. Electronic Journal of Folklore 48 , 2011
In the article Humorous interpretations of abbreviations as a socio-cultural phenomenon, Voolaid ... more In the article Humorous interpretations of abbreviations as a socio-cultural phenomenon, Voolaid presents the types of abbreviation riddles and their formation formulae. These are based on humour and therefore she uses humour theories to interpret them. Most of the older examples are connected with different phenomena of the Soviet era. Voolaid adopts the idea of code-mixing for acronyms based on Russian but being interpreted with Estonian words. This seems a linguistically plausible solution.
Editors: Assmuth, L., Hakkarainen, M., Lulle, A., Siim, P.M. (Eds.)
Provides a timely contribution to public and academic discussions on intra-EU mobility and migration crises Builds on rich empirical data collected across several years of focused ethnographic research with migrant children and their familiesCombines cases of privileged childhoods with the viewpoint of less privileged families in the age of global migration
The article analyses, using material collected through interviews, how members of transnational f... more The article analyses, using material collected through interviews, how members of transnational families talk about their own or their family members' experiences of migration and of crossing different borders. It also looks at the transnational family and the mechanisms of family formation from the perspective of both mobile and settled family members.
The interviewees either (try to) become closer to the Finnish family model, or consciously descri... more The interviewees either (try to) become closer to the Finnish family model, or consciously describe their own family as the opposite to it. The lived reality of immigrant families also has the potential to undermine prevailing notions of the family, such as the idea of a family as a linguistically and culturally unified unit that lives together, sharing a household. The experiences of families on the move should be better considered in the normative speech about family, so that the discrepancy between people's understandings and the (formal) definitions of family would decrease. Concepts of family are constantly changing, and the negotiations related to the idea of family culminate in the question of how we are able to and how we are allowed to imagine our families to be like.
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Papers by Pihla Siim
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Translocal Childhoods and Family Mobility in East and North Europe
Editors: Assmuth, L., Hakkarainen, M., Lulle, A., Siim, P.M. (Eds.)
Provides a timely contribution to public and academic discussions on intra-EU mobility and migration crises Builds on rich empirical data collected across several years of focused ethnographic research with migrant children and their familiesCombines cases of privileged childhoods with the viewpoint of less privileged families in the age of global migration